Raisins are not in vain considered one of the most popular and healthy dried fruits. It is often added to desserts, drinks, cereals and pastries. However, in industrial production, the raw materials used to prepare this product are treated with sulfur dioxide. And this is unsafe for our health. After reading today's article, you will learn how to dry grapes in an electric dryer, oven and just in the sun.
Tips for selecting and preparing raw materials
It should be noted that for these purposes it is better to purchase seedless grapes. Some experienced housewives recommend giving preference to raisins. This variety is good in that it has a high sugar content. In addition, it is small enough to reduce drying time. It is important that all fruits are ripe and have no visible damage. It should be noted that brown raisins are obtained from green varieties, and black from black ones.
Before drying grapes at home, it must be prepared. First you should sort it, getting rid of all the spoiled berries. No need to tear them from the cuttings. In the process of cooking, they will disappear themselves. And this will happen when the fruits are sufficiently dried. Before preparing raisins, the raw materials must be washed in cold water and dipped for a couple of seconds in boiling soda solution, prepared on the basis of half a teaspoon of a substance per liter of liquid.
Existing Techniques
Today, there are several different ways to get homemade raisins. The simplest of them is drying with an electric dryer. This device for today can be purchased at any store specializing in the sale of household appliances.
Those who for some reason cannot afford such a purchase can be recommended to cook raisins in an ordinary oven. True, here you need to be extremely careful not to spoil the product.
Those who are interested in how to dry grapes without using any kind of household appliances can be advised to do it in the sun. However, this method has one significant drawback. The whole process takes a lot of time.
In the attic
Berries pre-sorted and treated with lime water are placed on baking sheets lined with paper in advance. Then they are taken out to the attic and left until the raisins are ready.
During the first five days, a regular change of paper is made and spoiled fruits are removed. Twenty-two days later, the finished product is transferred to clean containers and sent for further storage.
In direct sunlight
This most primitive method was successfully used by our distant ancestors. However, it can only be used if the weather is sunny and dry. Raisins prepared by this method will have a matte surface with a wax coating.
Before drying the grapes, put it in a thin layer on paper and put it in the sun. In a month, it will make raisins. Since it can rain at any time on the street, it is very important to provide for the ability to hide the berries under a canopy so that they do not get moisture.
Accelerated technology
To reduce the time for making raisins, it is enough to know just one little secret. Before drying the grapes, it is dipped in boiling soda solution. Thanks to this little trick, you will not only significantly reduce the time spent by the berries in the sun, but also achieve the disappearance of a wax coating.
In addition, during such processing, microscopic cracks form on the surface of grapes, through which air passes and excess moisture evaporates. Berries that have been in a soda solution are washed in running cold water, laid out on paper and sent under the sun.
Can grapes be dried in an electric dryer ?
This question is of interest to many modern housewives, forced to combine housekeeping with building a career. Of course you can! And even necessary. This method allows you to save a lot of time and effort.
Ripe whole grapes that lack rot and other visible damage are carefully selected from pre-washed clusters. Grapes are stacked tightly on trays and placed in the appliance. Then activate the mode “Drying fruits and berries” and set the timer for four hours.
After this time, turn off the technique and let the berries stand for a while. After a couple of hours, you can repeat the procedure. Those who want to figure out how to dry the grapes in an electric dryer should remember that this is done in several approaches. After a four-hour stay in the included device, the berries are left for 120 minutes.
It should be noted that the duration of the process largely depends on the variety, size and consistency of the raw materials used. On average, it is about a day. There is no moisture at all in the finished product. It takes the form of raisins and becomes sticky to the touch.
How to dry grapes in the oven?
Ripe seedless berries are ideal for these purposes. They are carefully removed from the hands, trying not to damage. Then grapes are dipped for five seconds in a soda solution and laid out in a single layer on a metal sieve or baking sheet. After that, they are sent to the oven and kept there for ten hours at 90 degrees.
After this time, the temperature is reduced to 70 ° C and the process continues, opening the door slightly.
Having figured out how to properly dry the grapes, it should be noted that this will take about twenty hours. Raisins prepared in this way are sent for three weeks to a cool place or placed in hermetically sealed wooden boxes.
Alkaline method
To prepare raisins using this technology, you need to make a solution in advance, consisting of:
- Twenty grams of potash.
- One liter of water.
- Ten grams of lime.
Then it is poured into a saucepan and sent to the stove. Before drying the grapes, it is dipped for ten seconds in a boiling alkaline solution and washed under cold running water.
If possible, berries are fumigated with sulfur. And it is desirable to do this where drying will occur. For every four kilograms of grapes you will need one gram of sulfur. Bunches are hung in the attic or in another shaded and well-ventilated area. Under them place trays into which the finished raisins will fall.
Alternative option
In this case, the selected ripe and whole berries are subjected to preliminary alkalization. To prepare the solution, you will need ten liters of water and forty grams of crystalline caustic soda. These components are mixed in one pan and sent to the stove.
The selected grapes are immersed for several seconds in boiling liquid, then quickly removed and thoroughly washed in running cold water. After that, the berries are laid out on paper and left to dry. Every three or four days, the grapes are turned over.
How do the inhabitants of Central Asia?
The indigenous population of the East most often uses the so-called shadow method. Before drying the grapes for raisins, they do not stand it in any solutions. Selected berry clusters are hung in special clay buildings, in the walls of which there are frequent openings for good ventilation.
Thanks to this, the fruits do not dampen and are constantly blown with fresh air. Grape dried in the shade retains its natural shade. It is this technology of drying berries that is considered the most correct. Its use allows you to save the maximum amount of useful substances contained in them. In some cases, grapes are fumigated with sulfur wicks. This makes it possible to extend the shelf life of raisins.